Your worst game ever?

[Mark Padgett]

By "worst" game, I don't mean that you kept screwing up or made bad calls (which, we all know, never happens). I mean your worst experience with behavior of players and/or coaches and/or fans.

I'll start. I had a HS rec game (JV level) in which, after about 5 technicals had been called for unsportsmanlike conduct, I had to eject both head coaches after they got chest to chest and were pushing each other (one thought the other was running up the score), then also tossed one assistant coach for throwing his clipboard at one of his players, then tossed four players (one from each team) for fighting (this is when we called the game off) and then had two parents get in my face as I was leaving. They were accusing my partner and me of not "protecting" their kids. I told them that if they always wanted their kids to "be protected", they should keep them in plastic bubbles.

OK, let's hear the horror stories. FEEBLE games don't count because the teams always surrender too easily.

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

snipped...

then tossed four players (one from each team) for fighting

...snipped

How does that work?

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

How does that work?

wreck league, he was probably doing two gyms at the same time.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

How does that work?

They were really, really tall and each played two positions.

It was two players from each team, although I had another game earlier that evening and tossed two players, one from each team. I think that eventually balances out.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

They were really, really tall and each played two positions.

It was two players from each team, although I had another game earlier that evening and tossed two players, one from each team. I think that eventually balances out.

Yup, 1.5 players per team per game.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

Yup, 1.5 players per team per game.

1.5? Is that one of those metric decimal thingys?

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

wreck league, he was probably doing two gyms at the same time.

No wonder he had so much trouble, it's tough enough to call one game at a time, but calling two simultaneously is an impossible task.

Carrying a pistol in that situation is totally understandable

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

1.5? Is that one of those metric decimal thingys?

Sorry, let me translate that into Oregonian for you:

3/2

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Ch1town

No wonder he had so much trouble, it's tough enough to call one game at a time, but calling two simultaneously is an impossible task.

Carrying a pistol in that situation is totally understandable

Yup, might even want to take the bullet out of your shirt pocket and put it in your pants pocket just in case.

[FrankHtown]

"Is that a 357 magnum in your pocket, or you just glad to see me."

[M&M Guy]

Ok, this one's easy for me.

Once upon a time, I was in my third year of officiating, and a fellow official asked if I wanted to replace him in a girl's varsity game. I said, "Sure!", especially since I was experienced, having done one other varsity game earlier that season. I was excited because I knew I would be working with a good, veteran partner, and he would keep me out of too much trouble. Well, I get to the gym that evening to find out a few additional things: first, the home team was ranked 7th in the state, the visitors were ranked 10th, and both teams were tied for first in the conference. Second, the gym was packed with fans from both schools. Oh, yea, one other thing - my partner had to get off the game and I was working with a first-year official. So, all of a sudden I'm the senior member of the crew!

Needless to say, things didn't go all that well. (Understatement Alert!) For, example, the home coach threw a clipboard during the game in reaction to a call, but because neither of us actually saw him throw it, neither of us issued the T. I had what I thought was a good call on a home team player who drove the lane, released the shot, took one more step, and crashed into a defender. The foul was straight-forward, but the table didn't like the fact that I was awarding bonus FT's to the visitors. The scorekeeper even shook his head at me and told me it was a terrible call, as I was reporting. Of course, I just walked away. Later on, as I'm administering a FT to a player, someone in the crowd yells out, "So ref, is she giving you favors after the game for that call?!?" There were a few other incidents as well.

The home team finally loses by 12 or 14, and we limp back to the dressing room after the game. We stay there a long time, hoping the gym is cleared out. When we finally come out, there's still 4 or 5 people standing around, and as we walk past them, one of them says, "Are you guys from (the visiting team's town)?" We just say, "No" as we walk quicker to the front door. We're almost to the door, when we hear this lady running up behind us going, "Refs!, Oh, Refs!...". We stop, and wait for her to catch up. She looks at us and asks, "Are either of you guys married?" We look at each other and tell her no, so she says, "Cause I sure hope you f*** better than you ref!!", and turns around and walks away.

Well, I get out to my car, and just sit there for a while, trying to figure out if all this was worth it. I even got home and called my buddy who got me into officiating just to talk to him about it. A couple of things I learned: if you think you're ready for the next level, you probably aren't. Game management issues should not be ignored. And, no matter how hard tonight's game was, there's always the chance to do better at tomorrow night's game.

Oh, yea, the guy I worked with - I never saw him officiate another game.

[rainmaker]

I had one game where one player drove the baseline for a lay-up, got clotheslined on the way up, and came down with fists flying. A second pair of players took that as license to start into it, and we just decided to call the game. Actually, it was at a camp and the evals decided. I was paralyzed, having never seen this sort of thing before.

Then there was the game where the coach came out onto the floor and body-bumped me. Fortunately for him and me, I still had the whistle in my mouth so I just blew it right into his ear (chuck and rocky, remember that, the next time you are near a ref that's taller than you). He physically recoiled, and was then "rescued" by his assistant coach, and escorted off the premises by the tournament director. I heard later that he quit coaching. Thank goodness.

[rainmaker]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

when we hear this lady running up behind us going, "Refs!, Oh, Refs!...". We stop, and wait for her to catch up.

You stopped and waited... why???

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

You stopped and waited... why???

She didn't appear mad at the time, and the tone of her voice wasn't angry or upset.

Lots of lessons were learned in just that one night.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by rainmaker

You stopped and waited... why???

'Cause he didn't know any better yet.